Terminology

454 terms, tools, patterns and metrics an architect is expected to use precisely. Each one gets a short explanation of what it is, and — where it matters — what it is commonly confused with. Search filters as you type; the column headers sort.

All areas454 Architecture Fundamentals16 Distributed Systems73 Data Architecture71 Cloud Architecture55 Networking13 API & Integration Architecture17 Reliability & Resilience16 Observability14 Performance & Capacity Engineering13 Security Architecture50 Cost Architecture & FinOps12 Business Architecture9 Architecture Communication8 Enterprise Architecture8 Legacy Modernization11 AI-Era Architecture15 Software Architecture & Engineering19 Architecture Patterns15 Architecture Decision-Making11 The Architect's Meta-Skills8

Kind Any concept166 practice107 pattern93 case-study26 tool26 protocol22 metric14

3 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Hardware Security Module HSM	tool	Key Management	A tamper-resistant device that generates and stores keys and performs cryptographic operations without the key material ever being extractable.
Software Bill of Materials SBOM	tool	Supply Chain Security	A machine-readable inventory of every component and dependency in a piece of software, including transitive ones, used to answer exposure questions quickly.
Web Application Firewall WAF	tool	Network Security	A filter in front of an application that inspects HTTP requests and blocks those matching known attack patterns — useful as a layer, dangerous as a substitute.